“Just a day after Equal Pay Day and President Obama’s historic actions to promote fair pay among federal contractors, the Senate’s failure to advance the Paycheck Fairness Act today is a deeply disappointing missed opportunity to combat pay discrimination and take a step toward ensuring the equal pay America’s women and their families want, need and deserve. It is inexcusable that partisanship and baseless attacks have blocked this common sense bill.

Now is the exact right time for Congress to advance measures that promote the economic security of America’s women. Women are breadwinners in two-thirds of families and head more than 15 million U.S. households. And a 2014 survey shows that the majority of voters – across ideological and demographic lines – say they support policies that combat gender discrimination in pay. The Paycheck Fairness Act would close loopholes in the Equal Pay Act, help to break harmful patterns of pay discrimination, and establish stronger workplace protections for women.

This week, the National Partnership released a new analysis of the wage gap in all 50 states that shows that when women and their families lose thousands of dollars in critical income each year, they have significantly less money to spend on food, gas, rent and other basic necessities. The consequences for America’s families, and for state and national economies, are significant.

Today’s vote is disappointing, but attention to the wage gap and demand for measures that address it are strong. Congress must do much more to end discrimination so that millions of women are no longer denied fair pay. We applaud every senator who voted for the Paycheck Fairness Act today. We urge all lawmakers to take a hard look at the damage being done to families and the economy in their districts, and commit to supporting the Paycheck Fairness Act.”

Contact

The National Partnership for Women & Families is a nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy group dedicated to promoting fairness in the workplace, access to quality health care and policies that help women and men meet the dual demands of work and family. More information is available at www.NationalPartnership.org.